In the carriage, the four discussed lowly the kinds of reactions that the prince would have. Qin Yining also thought of a few ways she broach the request for help. If worst came to worst, she put on a piteous act or threaten to hurt herself. She had to get his help no matter what!
The carriage drew closer to the Ning Manor, bringing it within range for the fourth miss to lift the curtains for a look. She could glimpse the rear gardens and side alley. But bizarrely enough, there were two figures congregating around the corner door of the rear gardens.
It was a young couple. The man was about twenty five, wearing an ordinary long robe of fine cotton. He was thin and lanky, but Qin Yining couldn’t make out his features because of the distance. She could only tell from his stooped bearing that he was a bit dispirited.
The woman next to him was about twenty one years old. She wore the pale-green dress paired with a cherry-red jacket that was the uniform of the Ning Manor maids.
The woman embraced the man as they spoke, first hugging, then kissing, then exchanging a few low words. She fished out a small cloth bundle from her embrace and hefted it before handing it over.
The carriage was close enough by now that the couple would be alarmed if it came any closer. Qin Yining had the groom stop.
The man shoved the bundle into his clothes and kissed the woman before frantically taking off. The woman checked carefully to see if anyone was around before entering through the door.
Qin Yining considered with narrowed eyes. “Steward Zhong, can you investigate what the maid and man were doing and their relationship?”
The steward nodded. “That’s not hard to do. We have people here. Things will be very clear after some questions.”
“Mm. Then let’s wait for news first. We won’t be going into the manor just yet.”
The carriage was thus parked in the secluded alley behind the Ning Manor while the steward set off to find his people. The ladies remained inside.
“Miss, why aren’t we going in?” Bingtang asked lowly. “The prince should be in. Are you worried that he won’t agree?”
“Yes. If I were the prince, I wouldn’t want to get embroiled in this for no reason at all, to say nothing of anything else. The court is a mess now and the prince has once led troops. The emperor is paranoid and has shown himself willing to do anything. Besides, choosing a side brashly is the greatest taboo.”
Qin Yining looked down, noodling with the strand of red beans on her thin, fair wrist with her right index finger. She mused pensively. “I just don’t want to leave any stone unturned. I’m having Steward Zhong ask around first to see if there are any ins. If there aren’t, I’ll just have to grit my teeth and show up at his door.”
“Miss, you’re doing the right thing.” Jiyun was highly impressed. “Only in trying everything will we be able to grasp all possible chances. That’s how His Highness has always done things as well. No wonder he dotes on you so much. You two are so similar.”
Qin Yining blushed hotly and lectured back, “And what’s all this? Why are we talking about him at such a serious moment?”
Jiyun couldn’t help further testing when she saw how red her mistress’ face and ears were. “That’s odd, this servant didn’t say anything silly. I only mentioned the prince. Or did you think of something silly, miss?”
Qin Yining felt an explosion go off in her head. Her face was so red it was about to drip blood. She rolled her eyes savagely at Jiyun and looked elsewhere, refusing to say another word.
Jiyun and Bingtang looked at each other and burst out laughing.
It would seem that the relationship between their master and mistress hadn’t been impacted by the conflict between the two nations. It was growing ever better instead.
And that was only right. The prince cared so much for the miss. He’d even remembered to prepare some beef for her in the precious amount of time they had to spend together. A man willing to cook for a woman was touching enough, not to mention that it wasn’t an easy thing for even nobles in Great Zhou or Great Yan to get their hands on a hunk of beef.
Cattle were labor. Killing cows was actually breaking the law. But the prince had managed to source a chunk of beef tendon for the miss during a famine. It was easy to see from this how much he cared for her. When even servants such as they were touched by this, how would Qin Yining not be?
* * *
Chapter 208: Plotting (III)
Chapter 208: Plotting (III)
The two maids were worried that Qin Yining wouldn’t get over her shyness and kept the remainder of their teasing silent.
The fourth miss leaned against the carriage, contemplating a small shoot of grass through the screened window. It was a hot day. Thankfully they were parked beneath a tree with shade offering some relief. But even so, the occupants of the carriage started sweating before long and made use of velvet fans.
Steward Zhong came back sweating heavily after two hours.
“Miss.” The two maids alighted when the steward climbed into the carriage, but not before they handed over water and handkerchiefs. They grabbed the groom to walk off into the distance.
Qin Yining looked apologetically at the steward’s drenched collar and hair. “My apologies for having you make this trip on such a hot day.”
“Not at all, it wasn’t anything major.” The steward waved his hand with a smile. “Thankfully I didn’t disappoint. I really did obtain some information.
“The young man is Li Wenhan. He passed the scholar examinations when he was fourteen. He’s twenty eight now, but his future hasn’t progressed at all because of the friends he’s made. He picked up the bad habit of gambling and frequently indulges in it. He owes a lot of silver. Miss, guess what his lady gave him just now?”
“The lady is his lover? Then she naturally gave him something to pay off his debts. As down on their fortunes the Ning Manor may be, slipping away the smallest thing will be more than enough for Li Wenhan to play with outside.”
“You’re right, miss. I found out who the lady is as well. She’s a head maid for the Princess Consort of Ning. She’s called Qiangwei and has known Li Wenhan for four years. They’ve privately promised themselves to each other. She’s the reason why the scholar’s been able to always pay off his debts in the nick of time in recent years.
“Since Qiangwei serves the princess consort, she has plenty of opportunities to touch jewelry that the princess consort doesn’t value as much. I had someone follow the man and found out that he visited a pawn shop afterwards. I bought out the pawnbroker and learned that Li Wenhan’s always pawned off things at this shop.”
Qin Yining nodded, her eyes deep in thought.
The steward didn’t interrupt as opted to drain a cup of chilled tea, then cooling himself down with a cattail leaf fan.
The fourth miss waved her velvet fan absentmindedly and thought of a question a moment later.
“Do you know if any of the Ning businesses transact with any Cao businesses?”
A surprised steward asked back, “Why do you want to know, miss? Both parties have many businesses. We’d have to take some time to carefully sort all of them out.”
Qin Yining poked the red beans on her wrist and murmured, “Please look into what kind of business the two families do with each other.”
“Miss, are you… looking for an opportunity to create some trouble with their businesses?” The steward asked uncertainly.
“Mm.” The girl nodded.
“We can’t do that.” The steward advised earnestly. “Miss, there’s an unwritten rule with the businesses of the nobles that any conflicts are the results of the servants and employees. The masters don’t get involved. No matter how much of a mess we create, we won’t draw the prince’s attention.”
Qin Yining shook her head with a smile. “That may not be entirely true. There’s two things we need to do at the moment. One, have the Caos be full of themselves and suppress the prince’s businesses harshly. This shouldn’t be hard to accomplish. Two, I’ll need you to m
ake private contact with Qiangwei.”
She lowered her voice even more so and whispered a few words next to the steward’s ear.
The contents made the man go wide-eyed with incredulity. It took him a few moments to recover from his shock. “Miss, is this too much of a risk? Qiangwei’s served the princess consort for a very long time. The consequences would be disastrous if word of this got out!”
“No worries. She may want to be loyal, but she wants herself and Li to live even more so. We have tangible evidence at the pawn shop.”
Well, that did seem to be the case.
“Alright then, I’ll do as you say, miss. Just wait for my good news.”
Qin Yining smiled gratefully. “Many thanks for your efforts, Grand Steward.”
“Not at all.” The steward hopped off the carriage with some excitement, eager to get started. Qin Yining called back Jiyun and Bingtang and returned to the Qin Manor.
……
Ten days later, the Ning Manor.
The Prince of Ning looked at his ashen-faced princess consort on the bed, his brow knit with worry. “My dear, are you feeling better?”
“Don’t worry about me, Your Highness. I feel, al… alright…” Sweat dotted the princess consort’s forehead as she clutched her stomach, feeling her guts roil and churn once more. Her expression changed drastically. “I can’t, I, I need to use the washroom again!”
She scrambled down the bed and her maids Qiangwei, Baiwei, and Ziwei quickly took their mistress to the washroom in the back.
The prince was livid and he punched a bowed-legged paulownia tea table. “This is ludicrous! Qiangwei, come here and tell this prince exactly what happened today!”
Out in the washroom, the maid trembled all over at the summons and forced herself to calm down. She dropped to her knees in the bedroom and kowtowed. “Please quell your anger, Your Highness.”
The prince sat on a round stool and pounded the tea table again. “Well? Speak!”
“Yes. This servant accompanied Her Highness into the palace today to greet the empress as usual. The empress mentioned that she had a lovely new batch of almond tea and bestowed a cup to Her Highness. The princess consort didn’t dare refuse and drank it on the spot. Her stomach started acting up on the way back…”
Qiangwei’s hands were clammy and the color drained from her face. Calm, I must be calm. If she failed, not only would she lose her life, but Li Wenhan would as well.
Thankfully, the prince doubted not a thing and swiped a teapot off the table to smash it viciously on the ground. The shattering of porcelain was exceedingly ear-piercing. Everyone in the house knelt fearfully and kowtowed.
“Please quell your anger, Your Highness!”
“That empress! The Caos! How dare they think so little of me!” The prince exploded furiously and turned in maddened circles. “It’s just some small business conflicts! I haven’t done anything even with that old fart climbing all over me, but that Cao bitch makes moves against my princess consort? Does he take this prince for a dead man?!”
The princess consort emerged at this point, holding onto her maids for support as she walked with an arched waist and shaking legs. When Qiangwei understood that the prince had no intention of venting his anger or shifting his suspicions to her, she got up quickly to help her mistress lie down.
The princess consort had gotten such severe diarrhea that her face was pale and she was extremely weak. It’d been only four hours since she’d left the palace, but she’d already run to the washroom at least a dozen times. No one could take this toll on their body!
The princess consort had always led a life of ease and comfort. She’d ever been healthy and never suffered sickness or ailments. She naturally found this sudden torment hard to bear. She cried piteously, “Don’t be angry, Your Highness. Don’t clash with the empress because of me. This degree of suffering isn’t much.”
“What do you mean ‘isn’t much’? You’re my princess consort! What does the empress think of this prince in treating you this way? What does she think of our Ning Manor?” The prince planted his hands on his waist in hot irritation and huffed loudly. “It isn’t the Caos’ first time acting this way. What kind of stunning talent is Qin Meng? His manor has almost become the Caos’ backyard! They barge in whenever they want to and rifle through belongings at the drop of a hat. That muddleheaded fart Cao’s gotten used to having his way there and thinks I’m an easy target as well! That’s his greatest mistake!”
The prince turned to roar at the eunuch standing at the door. “Well? Where’s the imperial physician?! Why isn’t he here yet?!”
The little eunuch trembled all over and pulled a face uglier than crying. “In response to Your Highness, we’ve already sent in our requests. But Grand Preceptor Cao hasn't been feeling well lately and he’s requested all of the physicians on duty. We’re looking for those not currently serving a shift.”
Rage shot to the prince’s head again when he heard this and he kicked over a chair. “F*ck you Cao, your mother was a whore for donkeys!” [1]
The atmosphere inside was so terrifying that servants didn’t even dare breath loudly. They remained kneeling and curled themselves into balls.
The princess consort’s expression changed again and she shakily tried to rise. “No, no. I need to…”
As he watched his wife being helped to the washroom again, the prince roared in epic tones of fury. “Get a doctor if no imperial physicians are available! Are all of you blithering idiots?! Do I need to teach you even this? Where is my heir? And the others?! Their mother is sick, don’t they know to come help her?! What kind of manners are these?!?!”
“Yes, yes, this servant will go immediately!” The maids and eunuchs ran around slapdash in the face of their master’s forbidding anger.
The Prince of Ning had three sons and one daughter. His firstborn with the princess consort had once been given to the emperor, but had been returned after the emperor gained the crown prince. Thus, his firstborn, also Prince of Ning’s heir, occupied a very awkward position.
But the heir’s mother was the princess consort after all, so he too was very worried to hear that his mother was sick. He came with his wife, as well as the Prince of Ning’s second and third son, including an unmarried Commandery Princess [2] Jialan. They took up positions by their mother’s bed while the Prince of Ning sat in the outside room, glowering.
A doctor came before long and took the princess consort’s pulse, only to find that he had no idea what was going on with the patient. Terrified, he kowtowed to the prince with a face as white as a sheet. “Uh, the, the princess consort has some sudden disease. This old man has never seen this before and doesn't dare write a prescription. Please have some skilled imperial physicians come take a look, Your Highness!”
“Sudden disease? Sudden your mother!” The prince almost sent the doctor flying with a kick. “The princess consort was poisoned!”
The doctor grew even paler, if that was possible. His beard trembled with his response. “Please quell your anger, Your Highness. I’ve never seen such a rampant poison…”
I don't know how to cure this and wouldn’t dare. Find someone else, Your Highness!
* * *
Definitely took liberties with this insult. This was a more general/typical f*ck you motherf*cking etc. type insult, but that didn’t quite seem to fit with the ancient China setting. Besides, with how pissed the prince is right now, he’s just going to throw out anything that insults Cao, and insults about family are very, very bad in Chinese culture.
Title granted to daughters of imperial princes. Imperial princes are brothers of the emperor.
Chapter 209: Allies (I)
Chapter 209: Allies (I)
Although the prince was a player and his reputation of violence and enjoying ladies well engraved, he treated his wife respectfully. Her position in the household had never been in danger through all these years. Besides, she was one of his. Anyone who dared bully her meant they were l
ooking down on him as well!
And today, the empress had dared dose the princess consort with something? This reached the absolute limits of the prince’s explosive temper. To add insult to injury, the physicians he wanted to call upon had all been summoned to the Caos!
The princess consort made two more trips to the washroom while he berated the doctor. She too was at the end of her tether. The Prince of Ning knew that the situation couldn’t continue like this. “Come, prepare the carriage!”
“Understood!” The servants didn’t venture a peep before running off to prepare transportation.
Only his heir dared offer a question. “Where are you going, Your Highness?”
He was the heir to the Prince of Ning’s position and had once been part of the emperor’s household. Thus, he could only refer to his birth father as Your Highness.
“To the Qins,” the Prince of Ning answered solemnly.
This surprised his firstborn. “Your Highness, you…”
The prince took a look at his wife. Her pale face was tinged with an unhealthy green; she looked like she would stop breathing any second. “Take care of your mother. I’ll come back with a doctor.” With that, he sped out of the manor, whipping his horse for greater speed.
Qin Yining was cuddling Riceball as she read on a reclining seat. The fuzzy Riceball hopped around on the girl’s stomach with its little paws, tickling her despite its lack of weight. The fourth miss split her attentions between reading and caressing Riceball’s round body.
Bingtang, Songlan, Jiyun, and Qiulu were sitting around the octagonal table, working on embroidery and chatting. All was peaceful and amiable inside.
A serving girl’s report sounded at this time. “Fourth Miss! Fourth Miss!”
Qin Yining lifted her eyes and looked out the half-opened window. “What is it?”
“The Prince of Ning’s here. He’s waiting outside the main door and is asking to see you and Miss Bingtang!”
He’s here! Qin Yining jumped up, sending the accidentally forgotten Riceball sliding to the floor, crashing onto its butt.
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